COLUMBUS, Ohio — Gov. Mike DeWine has issued an executive order banning gender transition surgeries on minors.
This comes a week after he vetoed House Bill 68, which would have stopped doctors from providing gender transition treatment to minors and blocked transgender athletes from competing in women's sports teams.
DeWine wants to put rules in place for anyone seeking gender transition treatment in Ohio. In addition to signing an executive order banning gender transition surgery for minors, he introduced three rules.
Anyone seeking gender transition care would be required to talk with a multidisciplinary team including a bioethicist, psychiatrist and an endocrinologist.
They would also need to receive extensive mental health care and information in order to consent to the treatment.
Also, clinics that provide gender transition care would be required to report data to the state.
These rules will need to go through a public comment process before taking effect.
“We don’t have data on the frequency and circumstances,” DeWine said. “It’s time that we got that information, so whatever the legislature does, we’re going through with this.”
The Ohio House is expected to take a vote that could override the governor’s veto of the SAFE Act.
“I respect the legislative process,” DeWine said. “I have a job. They have a job. They do their job. I do my job. My job was to study this issue and decide whether to sign it.”
The sponsor of the SAFE Act, State Rep. Gary Click (R-Vickery), expects the override to be a success. When asked about his interactions with the governor, he said they have an understanding.
“I’m in communication with the governor, and the governor understands,” Click said. “I think he would rather we did not veto it, but he understands what we’re doing.”
He also issued a statement regarding DeWine’s executive order.
“The governor’s temporary administrative orders are no substitute for solid legislation,” Click said in the statement. “Children deserve protection that extends beyond four-year increments. The medical community deserves to operate in a stable and consistent environment, not subject to the whims of a new governor every four to eight years. The irony is not lost on us that Governor DeWine condemns government intervention in the same breath that he issues executive orders just before pivoting to marijuana and demanding that the legislature act. Executive orders are government intervention too and he has just as much ability to use them on marijuana as he does on surgery. He can’t have it three or four ways. While I appreciate the desire of the governor to participate, the executive branch is no less the government than the legislative branch, and each serves a distinct role. He has had five years to take the lead and nearly three years to join our process. It is not reasonable to assume that after a ten-day crash course, he is fully up to speed on the issue and equipped to supplant the legislature.”
Three-fifths of the House and Senate must agree to overriding the veto. House Minority Leader Allison Russo (D-Upper Arlington) said discussions have been continuing with Republican lawmakers regarding House Bill 68.
“Once you get to the point where you’re going to the floor, and this gets brought up,” Russo said. “You know, it remains to be seen if they will have enough members that come back next Wednesday to get the votes that they need.”
Meanwhile, DeWine said it all comes down to who should make these types of decisions.
“I think very, very clearly that this is a question of the parents should be involved and not the state of Ohio, not the government,” DeWine said.
